My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As a 13-year veteran of Salon.com's Table Talk forum (based on the Well and now owner of the Well), I enjoyed this quick and interesting read about the first online community, told mostly through its more outsized characters with a smattering of technical jargon.

I'm at a conference for a couple of days, and I know I should be networking my ass off for various reasons, but being "on" for strangers makes me blue after a while. I'm the person who likes parties but prefers to hide behind the potted ficus and observe others' good times.

So I skipped a session and went in search of peace and quiet. A cup of tea, an empty classroom, a Willa Cather story, and nothing but the sound of the HVAC humming above me. For an hour, all was right with the world.